Night Terrors
by Vladimir Zhivanevskaya
Summary: FEAST YOUR PSYCHE ON THE HORRORS THAT RESIDE WITHIN THESE PAGES! Well, it is a bit dark, but not a horror story. Jade has been through some crazy times, and now her subconscious is dealing out some serious payback. Psychological damage FTW! Don't worry, I'll add in a hefty dose of violence. Uh, let's see...no romance, sorry (hehe not really). T for randomness. Genre: Psychological.
1. Chapter 1

From the mind of Zim'sMostLoyalServant…

[Jade's Nightmares (title subject to change)

Not a summary, just a basic idea:

Okay, so Jade's a tough girl, I'll give her that. But she's also an 11-year-old (according to Wikipedia) girl who, over the course of the series, has been forcibly transformed into multiple creatures, possessed, trapped outside her body, trapped in someone else's body, and nearly killed on a regular basis (at least once an episode, for anyone not keeping count). All that happening to a kid, and we're supposed to believe there isn't any sort of psychological damage?

So, here's the idea - night terrors. At some point, she starts having terrible nightmares, based on or simply exaggerated versions of her worse experiences. This in turn leads to her becoming irritable, withdrawn, and temperamental. Okay, so it doesn't really fit the pattern of the rest of these stories, but I think it could be a well written take on the psychological damage resulting from traumatic experiences (albeit of the fantasy kind), and how it can make a person darker.]

Let's see what I can do with this, eh?

…_some time later…_

Alright, I have researched Night Terrors (read the entire Wikipedia page, spent over an hour reading through 5 paragraphs b/c of all the embedded links :\), so now I probably know more than you about it (shrinks excepted). The good thing is that there are many unknown aspects that will make writing about it easier (pretty much most people say: "it should happen/do this, and 90+% of the time it will, but there are always exceptions). I also read a certain "Description of a Night Terror", so I got some inspiration from that.

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Just for reference (not that technical, but interesting):

Lucid Dreaming: where one can actively move in and control/affect their dream environment.

REM: Your mind stops your muscles from moving and consolidates different types of memory (sorting files and etc.). It also throws out the trash (should Brain™ remember "How to best kill a duck with a piece of cheese whilst parleying with undead forces aboard a TARDIS."? …Deleted.), or "unlearns" unwanted information. May be inversely related to imagination (apparently the more you have, the more uncreative you are...less info=less connections).

NREM: Non-REM sleep. Basically, it's a phase of sleep where your muscles are not paralyzed and there is little chance of dreaming. The mind is also more organized than in REM sleep, and it is in this state where sleep walking and night terrors can occur.

Autonomic: Functions of the nervous system not under voluntary control (e.g. heartbeat). An action/response that occurs w/out conscious control.

Chapter 1

Pavor Nocturnus

"_I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."_

― _Frank Herbert, Dune_

The girl looked around the blank emptiness, confused for a moment. Where was she? Shadows condensed and writhed around her, blacker than black apparitions that she could hardly make out. Suddenly, it hit her; she was dreaming again. A whimper escaped her lips, followed by low murmuring.

"No…no no no…not again, please…not again…"

For these were not the imaginings of a healthy mind, they were the deranged madness you could expect to find wandering around Arkham asylum's most notorious detainees. She was fully aware and could move around, but was powerless to stop the raging bombardment of sounds and images thrown at her by her own damaged psyche. In this world, the word "dread" had a whole new meaning. This was Pavor Nocturnus, or Night Terror, but even that foreboding term cannot truly explain how terrifying it is, your worst nightmares combinine with your darkest thoughts and most fearsome visions to bring you an amalgam of inescapable fear that closes in around you like a fist. Your heart beats twice as fast as your fight or flight instinct autonomically kicks in, your breathing rate increases, your eyes dilate excessively, your body breaks out in a cold sweat, all signs of extreme distress. Of course, that is only visible to the outside observer-on the inside, you will see the most mild and uninteresting things as the harbingers of your inevitable doom, so even having an uneventful life does not prevent visions of such alarming quality.

That said, the life of this particular child is far from dull. From magical talismans to demon sorcerers to evil chi wizards, a criminal organization run by a conniving Englishman, malevolent mystical ninjas interspersed with an unhealthy dose of possession by destructive forces, and quite a few near-death experiences, one might be surprised that she had coped so well for so long. Just one of these incidents would be enough for recommended therapy; combined they made a deadly cocktail that would threaten to crush even the sturdiest of minds. As it was, the girl could suppress the fear consciously, but in the core of her being something had been…damaged. This led to dread thoughts that would explode inside her head, holding indisputable dominion while simultaneously consisting of a chaotic maelstrom of memories and events, each striving to cause the greatest amount of fear and anguish possible.

Out of her murky surroundings, a scene emerged: encircling the stage she suddenly found herself standing on was a vast army of shadowkhan and draconic-minions, and in the distance she could see the faint glow from fires that were consuming the populous city of Hong Kong, but the most imposing figure was the large bi-pedal lizard-dragon that was in front of her.

"Sh…Shendu? But you were sent to the netherworld!"

"That's right, but now I'm back, and I am just about to finalize my revenge on this traitorous country…even now it burns to the ground, with everyone in it." The chuckling hiss that followed made her blood run cold.

"You can't win Shendu! Jackie will stop you!"

"Oh, but I already have." With a wave of his arm, he indicated a row of poles that bordered the platform. Looking closer, she almost puked when she realized what they were. As it was, tear came unbidden to her eyes, and she collapsed to her knees in shock. They were stakes, and on the tops were the heads of Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, her_ parents_…she let out a wailing shriek of pain and broke down into uncontrollable sobbing, but her ordeal was far from over.

"Don't worry, girl, you're next." She turned to see his malicious sneer inches from her face as he pinned her to the ground and placed his claws on her abdomen. "I remember when you plunged your hand into me in order to destroy me. Allow me to return the favor." She didn't even have time to truly grasp the demon's intentions before he slowly plunged his talons into her. Her screams this time held no grief; they were the pure manifestation of physical torment. She writhed in agony under the relentless eviscerating appendage, blackness creeping in on her vision as the monstrous immortal creature laughed and laughed…

Jade woke up with a yell of panic; she was being killed! She had to run, had to get out of…taking a deep breath, she gradually calmed down, but couldn't help feeling uneasy.

They were getting worse.

[End Chapter 1]

Whoops. I accidentally published the one w/ typos. I think I fixed it.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, hello again!

Sorry for the long wait, but as many may know, this is not my "main" story, so I don't work on it as much. Also, I am prone to writer's block during relatively dull scenes (sure, I can attempt to think in the fifth dimension, but meal-time conversation eludes me).

Some of you have read my other story, and some have not. This is for those of you who have not had the extreme pleasure of basking in my pure, unadulterated (okay, maybe _slightly_ adulterated), awesomeness. Hahaaa…no, I speak in jest; as I am the center of the universe, everything is basked in my awesomeness. There are sometimes terms and ideas in my stories that I feel need to be explained or defined due to in-story constrictions and general obscurity. These will be denoted with an asterisk*, the corresponding elucidations will be placed into an addendum at the bottom of the chapter, under a bold title, so you can't miss it.

*This is an example of what you would see at the bottom of the page. Further explanations will have an added number of asterisks. These are not always important to the story, but will often be interesting/clarify some things, as I take the application of science very seriously in my stories.

I didn't know if this story would appeal well to readers (as it is, in some aspects, a representation of my own psyche, and I tend to have rather…eccentric tastes), but people are actually following it, even though it 1) has only been out for a few weeks 2) is short 3) has a terribly overused title…must I go on? I believe I will change the title eventually, perhaps to something more existential and presumptuous such as "A hypothetical dissertation of the travails of an aggrieved mind during the adolescent phase of a troubled Asian female in fictional society". …huh, it doesn't fit. Oh well guess it's back to the drawi-wait, I don't draw. The computer, then. Enjoy! (it's just a suggestion, you really aren't required to enjoy it; just keep in mind that the alternative is a painful, albeit imaginary, death).

Chapter 2

Contrast

"_One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside." _

― _John Lennon_

Jade looked around, taking stock of unfamiliar surroundings. Great, a random alley-a dirty one too. She groaned and managed to stand up, brushing some of the grime off her clothes. Her limbs were still shaky from the rush of adrenaline, so she leaned on the wall to recover. Where the hell was she? Walking to the end of the alleyway, she looked around for street signs, and was shocked at her location. "Market and…Noe? Where the hell is Noe? Wait a second…" Making her way towards Market, she realized that it was one of those three-way intersections that San Francisco had in abundance. As in many sprawling cities, poor planning and explosive growth had caused some streets to cross _diagonally_, creating asterisk-type cross-roads (sorry for the explanation, but some may not have seen these if they live in a less-densely populated area than So Cal). Sixteenth and Market, not dreadfully far away, but she usually wouldn't walk it. Grumbling at the early morning traffic, she made her way to Uncle's shop, though without her usual jaunty gait.

She entered just as her uncle Jackie (though he was really her first cousin once removed, or something like that) was coming down the stars that led to the extra bedrooms, scratching his head. He startled when he saw her, as he was prone to do. "Jade? How did you…never mind, not important. What happened to you, Jade? Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you!"

Jade had been subject to Jackie's bumbling interrogations hundreds of times, and she had become fairly adept at handling him. She was tempted to actually tell him the whole thing from the beginning, but was afraid he would send her to a shrink, or worse, back to china. Stalling for a good excuse, she fell back on sarcasm.

"And a good morning to you too. I've been outside, in case you were wondering."

Giving a heavy sigh, Jackie ignored the sarcasm, as per usual. "Yes, good morning, Jade. Now tell me, where have you been to get so dirty?"

"Uh…rolling around in an alley?" "_Well, that's more or less true, I suppose."_

Jackie just stared at her, flabbergasted, "Why were you rolling around in an alley?"

"Camouflage, duh. That's the only way to escape from mind-eating robots. Of course, this wouldn't _be_ a problem if I had my own ray-gun." Her Cheshire smile seemed to take up half of her face.

Jackie facepalmed, his hand dragging down half of his face in his characteristic fashion. He didn't know much about children, but he was certain that Jade was much more rambunctious than most kids her age. He understood that humans were curious by nature, but she seemed to have gotten a triple dose, and it had caused a whole mess of trouble-most of which Jackie had to get her out of. She had been kidnapped by criminal organizations, turned into an evil being set on taking over the world, and even sent (accidentally) to the netherworld, escaping by the skin of her teeth. He had thought of sending her back to china, but her parents had sent her to him in the hopes that she would flourish in a new environment. Though she still got into the occasional fight (either with a schoolmate or a demon-sorcerer), her grades had improved, and she was extremely outgoing, even participating in the dragon scouts (though it was the equivalent of the boy scouts, she hadn't wanted anything to do with "pansy knitting work and picnics" as she had put it) and helping out around the shop. It was times like these where he could only shake off the crazy and continue on with his day.

"No, Jade." He stated firmly, "you are not getting a gun, ray or otherwise. Now go get cleaned up and come back down for breakfast. Tohru is making his special _Tamagoyaki*_.

Jade ran off to get ready, while Jackie walked into the kitchen/dining-room, where a four-hundred pound Japanese man stood with a knife in his hand, which he brought down with great speed and force, making quick work of his target. Deftly scooping up the minced onions, he tossed them into a large bowl, and he was just about to crack some eggs when a grating voice made him wince, "Tohru, more garlic! Uncle needs it! How do you think Uncle lived this long…with onions? I don't think so!" Jackie watched the sizeable former criminal acquiesce in his typically mild manner, "Yes, Sensei."

Jackie's uncle, who everyone called Uncle (his old friend the exception-he called him "chuckles"…yeah, that's the reaction everyone had), was an adept chi wizard who had, in his time, been in a traveling theatre group and owned a disco store (which was now an antique shop). No one knew his exact age or the true depth of knowledge contained within his frail form. Although Uncle was too old to do any real fighting, he got around easily enough, and had mastered an uncommon form of martial arts that allowed him to take on most anyone not empowered by supernatural forces.

Jackie had at first distrusted Tohru, but Uncle had vouched for him, and he had proven himself time and again, fighting with Jackie, befriending Jade, and-just a short while ago-becoming a full fledged chi wizard. Jackie stood in the doorway for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"Tohru, we need to talk about Jade."

The Asian man looked up from his task for a moment, "What about her, Jackie?"

"I'm not really sure, and that's what worries me. I think she's hiding something from me. That's not like her."

"Hmmm…Jade does seem to be distracted as of late, but she has always been a bit restless. She's not like you and I, content to do the same thing every day. Give her time; I am sure she will come around."

Jackie frowned, pensive. "You might be right, Tohru. It's just that things have been quiet lately, so I'm waiting for the next bad thing to happen. *sigh* …and I used to worry about whether or not I was translating ancient texts correctly."

Tohru chuckled lightly "At least you never had to take orders from a talking statue."

* * *

Jade rushed up to her room, closed the door behind her, and proceeded to stare off into space. She stood there for a minute, then shook her head vigorously, causing her shoulder-length black hair to flail around aimlessly. She went over to her bathroom to wash the dirt off, and-she glanced down at herself-change her clothes.

She paused as she passed the mirror over the sink, staring at her reflection. Brown eyes gazed back at her out of a haggard face. It wasn't that she couldn't sleep, she just didn't want to. It didn't used to be this way; before, when she had been…whole, she had almost never remembered her dreams-just fade to black and bam, it was morning. She couldn't say when it started, exactly; a few months ago, she had experienced her first terror, but she shrugged it off, thinking it a simple nightmare. Then a couple of weeks later she had one more, and a fortnight after that, yet another; as with most things, patterns are defined by trifectas**. In that moment, Jade had realized that the terrifying visions that greeted her at night would be a recurring blight on her mind, a plague to which she didn't have the cure. The terrors had increased in both intensity and frequency as the weeks passed; her last respite hadn't lasted a week.

Jade took a deep breath and let it out slowly, sloughing off her foul mood. No use wallowing in self-pity, she just had to find out how to fix her problem before…she didn't care to think what the terrors would eventually culminate in. Insanity, or something worse? Sighing, she put on her spare jacket*** and went downstairs. When she entered the kitchen, her view was blocked by the reassuring bulk of Tohru.

"What's up, T?"

The large man turned, a smile lighting up his face. "Good morning, Jade. I was just finishing breakfast." He sighed humorously "it was _supposed_ to be a surprise."

"Wasn't going to work. Even if Jackie hadn't given it away, I could recognize the smell of your _Tamagoyaki_ anywhere." She sniffed the air for emphasis. "…though I think you overdid it on the garlic."

Tohru leaned down and looked around surreptitiously "Don't worry; I made a separate one just for you. No garlic."

She grinned. "You're the best, T."

The relationship between these two was a stellar example of the old adage 'opposites attract'. Despite having a mottled history (of which the particulars were too sore a subject to bring up), this odd coupling of a height-challenged girl and a sumo seemed almost a force of nature; Jade's happy-go-lucky attitude tempered by Tohru's steadfast tranquility created an atmosphere that often helped to bring an optimistic feeling to even the most dire of situations.

Though this had saved Jackie's sanity often in the past, the recent lull in the magical crimes department, along with the resumption of his career full-time (it's hard to stay on top of your job when you're busy trying to stop various apocalypses), found him in a much less stressful mood.

Tohru called the others to breakfast while Jade set up the table (as they all hailed from either China or-in Tohru's case-Japan, they were well versed in using chopsticks, and each had their own pair. In fact, Tohru had gotten Jade a pair of jade chopsticks-complete with rest-for Chūgen****). Uncle came in, berating Jackie over his shoulder. "You are _teeerrible_ nephew. Uncle said to get _sixth_ century vase, not _sixteenth_ century!"

Jackie apologized, a bit sheepish. He had gone to the address the ad had listed and asked for "the vase". He should have examined it more closely, but then again, who has two vases created a thousand years apart just sitting on their mantle? He would have to return and exchange it. However, that would have to wait, because he was busy today.

He waited until they were all seated before making his announcement "I got a call from the University (it's the San FranciscoStateUniversity, but since some of his work is closely associated with it, the others know which one he is talking about). Dr. Pahl*5 wants me to come in as a guest lecturer, and consult with me about a potential Chinese to English archaeological dictionary." Jackie smiled at the thought; he had worked with Dr. Pahl before-they had even published a few papers together-and he was looking forward to seeing him again.

Tohru, as per usual, showed a genuine interest in Jackie's work. "What will you be talking about, Jackie?"

"Yeah, you gonna tell them about the time you wrestled a snake to get the invisibility talisman? Or the time we went to Mexico and ended up reanimating Quetzalcoatl who thought that I was some _other_ random god and that El Toro was the god of the underworld and he was shooting sunbeams everywhere and-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, Jade." Jackie held his hands up, halting the barrage of words from his niece's mouth. "I'm going to be showing them archaeology techniques, _not_ telling them about my encounters with Mesoamerican deities." He finished off the last of his meal with obvious gusto. "Tohru, thank you for the meal; Jade, don't be late for school; and Uncle, I'll exchange that vase for you tomorrow."

His words were met with a nod, a grunt, and a "humph", respectively.

[End chapter 2]

This chapter was intentionally left without any type of suspense or conflict at the end; just in case you were wondering if I was a lazy writer (I am, just not that lazy). You will see my reasoning for it later…or not. Do you people like the quotes? They're cool, aren't they *puts thumbs in suspenders, struts off like a boss*. JK, I wear a monocle and top hat with a pocket watch and a cane. I am also Asian (hey, Russia is part of Asia too!).

Any errors/whatnot, please tell me. I try my utmost to bring you the epitome of excellence regarding the English language, but I am sadly fallible (ten times more so than a computer, apparently).

Next chapter: Jade goes to school! $#!T goes down, and a familiar face is involved? Tune in next time for: **_Night Terrors _**(working title).

**Addendum:**

*A delicious Japanese breakfast omelet, with several layers of egg rolled together (sort of like sushi). Tohru adds a few special ingredients that make his quite tasty.

**What I mean by this may not be obvious to everyone (but probably is). To explain would be difficult, as it requires an advanced knowledge of psychology (which I do not possess). To put it simply, the mind recognizes patterns in groups of three. How many throws/shots does it take to judge distance? (You might only need two, but the third is going to be accurate). How many points do you need to triangulate a position on the earth's surface? If you punch a wall and it explodes, will you just assume you can always do it, or try it again, then once more to be sure? I haven't done much research on this, but you must agree out of personal experience, at least, eh? Or not, just google it, "omne trium perfectum" and all that.

***One can assume she has a spare (possibly even two or three), as she wears it every day.

****Often with an "O" added as an honorific to make it O-Chūgen, this a Japanese holiday occurring on July 15,where people will give gifts to those that they feel indebted to. I do not ascribe myself as an expert on Japanese culture, but I try to look like I do. Usually, the gift is reserved for one's "social superior" or a relative, but Tohru had found them on discount (hey, he's a parolee working at an antique store, so he doesn't have much in the way of disposable income) and couldn't wait for Jade's birthday to come around to give them to her. Besides, they're practically family (apparently, it is incorrect to use the word "family" after an adverb b/c in that case it would technically be an adjective that isn't modifying anything-like saying "He was a really cool". However, it sounds better this way to me, and you can figure out that I am using it as a noun, not an adjective).

*5 Dr/Prof Pahl is an actual archaeology professor with a Ph.D. (presumably in archaeology). I chose him b/c 1) he works at a university in San Francisco and 2) his primary interest is China. If you'll remember, I placed Uncle's shop not too far away from the intersection of Market and Sixteenth. As it is, I would say that the university is about fifteen minutes away. I _do_ have a reason for choosing these seemingly random locations. For instance, there are a few antique stores not too far away from that intersection, and there is a small alley on Noe Street, right off of Market. You see, there is a method to the madness. Hmmm…would anyone be adverse to a Monk appearance? XD Sorry, but that's just what San Francisco reminds me of (it's a jungle out there). I ramble; apologies, continue your reading please


	3. Chapter 3

Hokay, ai moit as weel get crackin' down o'er here. Y'all may be wunnerin' wots up wit dis 'ere ak-cent. Keep wunnerin'. Ai tought mebbe dat a ser-tan care-act-ter cud be's talkin' alls dis whay. Wotcha dink, guv'ner?

Well, that just increased my typo-count by an exponential degree. Here is the general gist of that grievously garbled gabbing: "This here is an accent* that may come into play with a new character. Any thoughts?"

*This accent brought to you by Blarghenspeil Inc., purveyor of all the random shit that goes on in my head. The good folks at Blarghenspeil wish to tell you that they did not misspell "spiel", the common German suffix-"speil" is an outdated spelling of an even more outdated word-their name roughly translates to "A botheration akin to a splinter which justifies an exclamation of frustration"…or something like that.

Last time, on _Night Terrors_: The evil demi-god Shabranigdo has wrecked havoc on the world's economy by introducing a powerful energy source-one that only select individuals can control-rendering the oil industry a superfluous endeavor. Leaders of prominent countries scramble to control the fallout on the stock market to little avail as riots break out in the streets. The status quo has shifted; possession of those who can use the power is now the deciding factor of world power, and governments race to acquire them, though many call to destroy them. Many religious factions claim in one way or another that these people have been infused with pure evil and must be cleansed from the world. Backed by oil barons, they are working towards their goal. As this new minority is being hunted, either to be killed or "protected", a new group is formed-the PPL (powers protection league)-consisting of a small number of these powered beings. Using their unique abilities, this group ventures forth, wanting freedom with no ties to any nation. However, dark forces plot against them and they will meet many obstacles in their path: will they ever attain true freedom, or will the pitfalls of greed and corruption drag them down into a watery hell?

Chapter 3

Agitation

"_He didn't know what was defeating him, but he sensed it was something he could not cope with, something that was far beyond his power to control or even at this point in time comprehend." _

― _Hubert Selby Jr., Requiem for a Dream_

Jade managed to get to school on time, trudging into the classroom just as the second bell was ringing, acknowledging her teacher's greeting with a slight nod. Mrs. Hartman glanced at the clock and clapped her hands together, signaling the beginning of class. "Alright now children, you know the drill. Pass your homework to the front of the room." While she waited for them to comply, Hartman went on to outline the details of the lesson plan for the day*.

"Hey, look what the raccoon dragged in! What, forget to check under your bed for ninjas?"

That was Drew Allen, Jade's de facto nemesis. Armed with a slightly greater modicum of wit than most of his classmates and clichéd "hipster" fashion, the Black** child made it his personal mission to hassle and belittle Jade with corny jibes and halfway intelligent insults. It wouldn't be much of a problem, except that his peers found his jokes-often at Jade's expense-to be no end of amusement, which led to it becoming a "thing".

Jade cursed inwardly (she knew at more than forty distinct curse words-some of them actual curses-in five different languages, but refrained from using them, mostly for Jackie's benefit); she was **not** in the mood for this crap. "Can it, Drew."

"Jade! No talking during class!" As Mrs. Hartman turned back to the board, Jade glared at Drew, who gave her a smug grin. _"Smartass." _She pointedly ignored him for the rest of the period, though the occasional snigger from his general direction made her grit her teeth in annoyance.

Hours passed in the stuffy classroom, the sun streaming in through the windows and warming Jade's back, lulling her already fatigued body and mind into a fitful slumber. She tried to fight it, but she was a growing girl (in theory, anyways), and she hadn't exactly had a relaxing sleep the night before. Besides, she was just going to close her eyes for a second, just to rest for a minute...

A bleak red landscape stretched out in all directions, meeting the pale horizon in a hazy distortion of color. The visibility was amazing—not that there was much to see—though there was no observable source of illumination. A directionless wind howled through the desolate terrain, swirling around thin pillars and shallow gulleys, and eventually past a small figure huddled in ragged clothing. The girl was hugging her knees to her chest, shivering against the chill as she glanced around nervously. She did not know where she was, but she did know three things. The first two were obvious. She was completely alone and was completely exposed with no shelter. As there was nothing to see for miles on end, this may not have been a problem, if not for the last thing she knew: the Darkness was coming. How she knew, she could not explain, but everything inside of her screamed that something bad would happen when It came. She could run, but where was there to go? She could scream for help, but who would hear her?

A rumbling sound broke her out of her musings, and she curled up even more into herself. _"It'scomingit'scomingscaredscared."_ Her semi-coherent thoughts dissolved into gibberish as the ambient light began to fade, the Darkness overtaking the land quickly, blotting out even the pale sky, as if the very world itself was being consumed. Finally, when nothing remained except for a small circle around the girl, It stopped. Even the wind stopped swirling around, the dead air carrying only the sound of the girl's erratic breathing. Just as she began to calm down a little, a black shape rose from the Darkness, forming into a grotesque mockery of the human form, an asymmetrical creature with a featureless face. Its entire body was covered in a chitinous exoskeleton, sectioned limbs of varying lengths stuck out in random directions, and a viscous substance oozed from the tip of a long tusk-like protuberance where an arm should be. It stood over seven feet tall, towering over her, and though it had no eyes, she could sense that it was looking at her. The girl was petrified from fear, her animal instincts causing her to sit as still as possible so as not to draw attention from an obvious predator. Without warning, the creature's face opened as if it was a clam on its side, revealing a jagged maw of razor sharp teeth as it screamed right in her face. The sound was terribly loud in the young girl's ear, but the volume was a minor pain compared to other effects of the shriek. She had been frozen before, but now she trembled in pain at a revolting sensation, what felt like long, cold nails trying rip out very soul. She managed to get to her feet and back away, but then there was a horrible _wrenching_ in her being and she fell to the ground, shuddering. The beast advanced slowly—even if its prey could move, where could it go? All was Darkness except this small clearing, and soon even that would cease to exist. The girl watched as the monstrous being's mouth opened even wider before it struck down at her unprotected head. There was a dull pain, then blackness. Suddenly, she heard a loud ringing, which caused her to roll over. Odd, how could she-

*THUD*

Jade woke up on the ground next to her desk to the sound of laughter and the bell that signaled recess. She got up, rubbing her head and saw Drew laughing, pointing, and trying to explain between breaths what had happened to the person on the other side of him, who had missed all the excitement. Seeing her wake up, he motioned for the others to calm down a bit.

"I wonder, if you hit your head enough times, do you ever revert back to normal?"

A kid across from Drew piped up, "Naw, but I bet it smoothes out the wrinkles!"

Drew seemed to consider this for a moment, before grinning and giving the kid a high five. They walked out together, creating further insults as they went on, their posse following behind.

Jade was left alone in the room, and she sat up and rubbed the back of her head. She stiffened suddenly as her memories came flooding back, and she shivered involuntarily, curling in on herself. She stayed that way for a while before Mrs. Hartman poked her head back into the room, interrupting her.

"Jade, are you coming?"

Shaking off her slump, Jade got up and paced out of the classroom, eliciting a slight frown from her teacher—though she was disapproving of Jade's usual flamboyant attitude, her lack of exuberance the past few days was something to make note of. For all she knew, her rambunctious student could be maturing, but there was also the possibility that something was wrong. She cut her own thoughts short and made her way over to the teacher's lounge—those papers wouldn't grade themselves.

A few minutes later saw Jade sitting off to the side of the yard, cradling her head in her hands. About the only good thing about the pounding headache was that there was no chance of her falling asleep anytime soon…hopefully. Two in less than twelve hours—she had hoped that her respite would be much longer, but apparently the universe was determined to screw her over.

A shoe scuffing the ground caught her attention, and she looked up to see Drew and his cronies ("_Again? Don't they have anything better to do?"_) sauntering over with sadistic grins on their faces. Jade's already lowered spirits dropped even further in the oppressive atmosphere. Her expression suddenly turned to one of shock as Drew held up a small trinket that she had put in her bag that morning.

"Hey Jade, looky what I found! Seems like someone's been taking up arts and crafts in her spare time. What's this even supposed to be, a decoration for a hippie van?"***

The others, with the typical open-mindedness of school age children, jeered at her as her surprise turned into anger. Jade had gotten a bit desperate when the dreams didn't stop, so she had gone with the one thing she had extensive knowledge and access to: magic. The horse talisman was gone, sucked into the void along with the duel disseminators of death and destruction, the dyad of dastardly demonic dragons who nearly doomed the domain on which her life had dawned.**** However, Uncle had many, many, _many_ books on magical lore, so she had "borrowed" one on dreams and read it. She had tried a few of the spells, but none of them seemed to have any effect. Then she saw an entry on a dreamcatcher, a mystical "net" that would catch bad dreams before they could reach the owner. She had made one, chanted the incantation, sprinkled it with the concoction detailed in the manuscript (adding a generous dose of garlic to it—it couldn't hurt), and stuffed it in her bag before leaving for school. She glanced over at her tattered sack, but the openings were all zipped up. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Where did you get that?"

Drew held his hands up, feigned innocence on his face. "Woah now, I just found this on the ground. Then I saw how it was an absolute _disgrace_, and thought of you." His companions snickered, causing his ego to almost visibly flare up.

"Give it back, Drew." Every muscle in her body was tense, her hand instinctively coiling into a fist.

The boy just smirked at her. "Sure, I'll put it back, right where it belongs…" His smile widened, and Jade watched, as in slow motion he dropped the dreamcatcher, then smashed it violently with his foot. "with all the rest of the trash on the ground!"

Jade's mind came to a grinding halt. The dreamcatcher might not have worked, but it was her security, her comfort, her _hope_ that things would get better. Now it was gone. Seconds passed while she stood there, unaware of the laughter in the background, of the pain in her head, of even her surroundings. A wave of uncontrollable fury came over her and focused on a target directly in front of her. With a thunderous roar of rage/fear/wrath, she launched herself at the source of her frustration. He didn't stand a chance as Jade sunk a fist into his stomach, not giving his body time to bend before she landed a punch to the side of his head. This time she let him fall, giving her time to spin around and kick him in the chest, sending him tumbling across the ground until he stopped just a few yards away (though excited observers would later claim that he had gone no less than the entire length of the yard).*****

Chest heaving from the sudden exertion, Jade looked around at the assembled group, some in shock, others staring in abject terror. She looked down at her hands and took in a shuddering breath.

_"What did I just do?"_

[End Chapter 3]

…Well then. That was intense, no?

Also: Hey, look...a chapter! Enjoy, I guess. I didn't proofread this, so tell me if there's a problem/inconsistency. Thanks.

Next time, on **_Night_****_Terrors_**: Actually...I don't know yet. Presumably Jade gets in trouble, but hopefully something interesting will happen as well. *shrugs*

**Addendum:**

*Mrs. Hartman probably has multiple degrees (B.S. in lib arts and assoc. in math & science?), which is why she teaches every single subject to Jade's class (except gym, I suppose). She also speaks Spanish and/or French, I guess *shrugs*. I was never in the seventh grade, but Jade is twelve (-ish) and there is only ever one classroom she goes to (If I'm mistaken, just tell me), so I assume Mrs. Hartman is certified across the board.

**He might be mixed race (part white or something?), but is definitely 100% American, so that makes him Black (with a capital "B"!). I know African-American is the technical term, but I really doubt he has any ties with his "roots", like how I'm White, even though I have German, French, Irish, Dutch, Russian (etcetera, etcetera) ancestry. Whatever, ignore my ignorance on racial identities, please (though I'm kind of obligated to it, since I'm White XD).

***I'm terribly sorry, people, but I am terrible at making good "schoolyard" insults. A scathing remark on the pitfalls of society? Sure, that I can do. As I am a white male, the amount of discrimination against me in school was nil, so I have no "bully" experience besides the ridiculous depictions on television (does that stuff actually happen? I've never seen it). Please just assume that the insults are demeaning and, well, actually insulting. If you have any good insults that would fit better, just tell me and I'll put them in and credit you with an entertaining compliment.  
In addition, "Hippie Van" refers to a Volkswagen type 2 belonging to "free-spirited" individuals, and usually decorated with odd and ludicrous ornaments and symbols (such as the "peace sign" consisting of a circle around an inverted capital letter "Y", though variations abound). These vehicles were most prevalent during the seventies and eighties, but have since faded into obscurity (though coincidentally, I did just see a red one today after writing that particular jibe).

****Alliteration is always acceptable, as is assonance. I'm also insane, so I apologize.

*****Jade is a short, skinny, twelve (ish) year old girl, but she managed to knock back someone with larger mass a significant distance without falling over. Years of training with Jackie had honed her skills and strength, while numerous life and death situations gave her a reaction time a sumo wrestler would be jealous of (seriously, those guys are crazy fast).  
Interesting tidbit: The epitome of human reaction time is around one tenth of a second (I don't care what stupid crap you find on google, this is scientifically proven). An average Joe (or Juan or Lee) has a reaction time twice that or greater (1/5th to 1/3rd of a second)


End file.
